From the prohibition era in the US, to gun control in Australia, bans have been used throughout history to change behaviour. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. Sometimes, they lead to a whole lot of unintended consequences.With the social media ban for under-16’s taking effect this week, we uncover the three factors that can determine whether a ban is more likely to succeed or fail – and find out what the history of bans tells us about how effective this policy might be (or not).Plus – how solid is the research on the link between mental ill health and social media use?You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.Guests:Dr Alexis WhittonAssociate Professor and psychologistThe Black Dog Institute and University of New South WalesDr Kate Harrison BrennanProfessor of Practice and Academic Director of the Sydney Policy LabHonorary Associate at the Sydney Law SchoolUniversity of SydneySeb, Eva, Ciara, LilyWith additional thanks to Associate Professor Susanne Schweizer, from the University of New South Wales.Credits:<ul><li>Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar</li><li>Senior producer: James Bullen</li><li>Producer: Rose Kerr</li><li>Sound engineer: Micky Grossman</li></ul>A big thank you to everyone who sent us emails and voice memos with their thoughts on the social media ban. We couldn't include everyone but we appreciate getting to hear your perspectives.Thanks to freesound.org users <a href="https://freesound.org/people/TRP/">TRP</a> and <a href="https://freesound.org/people/davidbain/">davidbain</a>More information:<a href="https://au.yougov.com/politics/articles/51000-support-for-under-16-social-media-ban-soars-to-77-among-australians">Support for under-16 social media ban soars to 77% among Australians</a><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-04/illegal-tobacco-is-a-deadly-10-billion-industry/105607186">Illegal tobacco is a deadly $10 billion industry wiping out legitimate businesses</a><a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/2024/february/smoking-rates-continue-to-decline#:~:text=Tobacco%20smoking%20The%20proportion%20of%20people%20in,49%25%20in%201991%20to%2065%25%20in%202022%E2%80%932023">Smoking rates continue to decline while vaping triples, national household drug survey shows</a><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2409907122">Psychological reactance to system-level policies before and after their implementation</a><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167487024000114">The presence of laws and mandates is associated with increased social norm enforcement</a><a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/youth-mental-health-enters-dangerous-phase">Youth mental health enters 'dangerous phase'</a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRk5oHHj3oL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D">Social psychologist and author of best-selling book The Anxious Generation Jonathan Haidt talks to News Breakfast about Australia's world-first under 16 social media ban</a> — ABC Lifestyle<a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/esafety-appoints-stanford-university-led-academic-advisory-group-to-assess-the-impacts-of-the-social-media-minimum-age-obligation">eSafety appoints Stanford University-led academic advisory group to assess the impacts of the Social Media Minimum Age obligation</a><a href="https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/research-areas/digital-mental-health/">Digital mental health, Black Dog Institute</a>

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From prohibition to social media - what makes bans succeed ... or fail?

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